When that cursed blade was drawn, those eighteen European Uma Musume were no match at all.
Dream Weaver didn't even expend much strength before she cut them down.
But the real challenge lay ahead. Dream Weaver narrowed her eyes, fixing her gaze on the formation of five Triple Crown Uma Musume before her.
Mr. C.B., who had forced her Zone Break earlier, was already spent, barely holding her ground amidst their encirclement.
Dream Weaver had been fast—achingly fast.
The time it took her to overtake that dozen or so Uma Musume and reach this point couldn't have been more than a few seconds.
But Triple Crown winners were Triple Crown winners for a reason.
Even if their will had waned, even if they clung to their current status and shied from fierce battles, their honed bodies and race-tempered skills instinctively drove them toward the most effective course of action.
By the time Dream Weaver closed in, the opening Mr. C.B. had just torn apart was already fading.
Yet Dream Weaver couldn't slow down to carefully pinpoint the gap before striking.
Because the Front-Running style was one that utterly relied on momentum.
Only by charging forward without retreat, by pressing on relentlessly, could one cut through the field and reach the champion's throne.
Any hesitation, any moment of doubt, would cause the invincible aura around Dream Weaver to falter.
So she could not retreat. She had to keep charging ahead, seize this single blade's opportunity, and cut down those five Triple Crown Uma Musume right here.
At this critical juncture that would decide victory, Mr. C.B., long exhausted and utterly spent, seemed to sense the pivotal moment as well.
With great effort, she turned her head and silently mouthed a few words to Dream Weaver.
'I believe in you.'
'I believe in myself.'
Without a shred of hesitation!
After giving Mr. C.B. a slight nod, Dream Weaver's speed surged once more. Like a sharp, sinister blade, she shot forward with a piercing edge, aiming straight for the Triple Crown Uma Musume ahead.
Bolstered by an indomitable will, a hum like that of a thousand swords converging instantly resonated across the racetrack.
Dream Weaver's extreme speed transformed into a blazing crimson streak, like a truly unsheathed cursed blade, slashing out with a glint that made one's hair stand on end.
Faced with such a blade's edge, even the Triple Crown Uma Musume couldn't help but feel their hearts race.
An unbearable sense of fear turned into chains that tightly bound their hearts.
A sharpness that felt almost capable of piercing skin swept over their backs, making them forget the track ahead entirely.
Instinctively, they turned their heads in unison, seeking to confirm whether a cursed blade truly existed behind them.
But when these Triple Crown Uma Musume turned to look, all they saw was a black-haired, black-eyed Uma Musume staring back at them with an expressionless face.
In those seemingly emotionless black eyes flickered an eerie crimson light, almost transforming Dream Weaver into the incarnation of Asura in their eyes!
And the red cloak billowing in the fierce wind further became the blade in Asura's hand, as if it would cut them down in the very next second!
Yet perhaps due to the resilience forged through years of grueling training camp life, these Triple Crown Uma Musume, confronted with such a terrifying Asura's strike, did not follow their instincts and choose to flee.
In the face of the imminent danger, they immediately gathered their focus, unleashing their Zones with all their might, pouring all the pressure onto Dream Weaver alone.
These Triple Crown Uma Musume, sharing a similar underlying essence, had Zones with largely similar effects: forcing their opponents to feel the pressure they themselves had endured in the training camps, unsettling their minds and preventing them from performing at their best.
Because in their hearts, this was the existence they deemed most difficult to overcome.
Yet this supposedly inviolable existence had just experienced an anomaly.
That very Mr. C.B., whom they viewed as a failure, had withstood their Zones and even dared to transform into a raging gale and charge forward.
The shock from that astonishing act had not yet fully dissipated for the five Triple Crown Uma Musume.
The moment they unleashed their Zones, they involuntarily recalled Mr. C.B.'s desperate charge from moments before.
The expansion of their Zones hesitated for an instant.
And it was that fleeting instant of hesitation that finally allowed Dream Weaver to clearly see their opening!
"You're afraid."
Through the Zone's link, Dream Weaver's voice reached all the Triple Crown Uma Musume, making their hearts quiver involuntarily.
Their Zones, already delayed by a moment, erupted with noticeably less intensity than usual. But before they could even inwardly curse their misfortune, Dream Weaver's words transmitted through the Zone link once more.
"The training camp—no, the entire European Racing World—is the most powerful existence in your hearts."
"So you changed yourselves for their rules, twisted your reasons for running in obedience to their will. Even after becoming so-called Triple Crown Uma Musume, the shadows cast by those training camps years ago still linger, manifesting as Zones that entangle your hearts."
Every word from Dream Weaver was like a blade's edge, making the already wavering wills of these Triple Crown Uma Musume grow even more fragile.
"When faced with Uma Musume like Mr. C.B. and me, who choose to resist, the best method you could think of was to crush us with the Zones born from those past shadows."
"Because in your hearts, they symbolize the absolute authority of the European racing world. They are unstoppable."
"But you are wrong."
A blood-colored sharpness solidified in the air. The blade's light had not yet arrived, but its fierce killing intent already pricked their skin painfully.
The pupils of the Triple Crown Uma Musume contracted violently. The moment that cursed blade was raised, their bodies felt as if nailed in place by invisible shackles, their very breath freezing for an instant.
There was no escape.
This realization chilled them to the bone, yet now even the most basic evasion had become a distant hope.
"I, who have set out to overthrow the European racing world's dominion, how could I possibly be affected by their so-called absolute authority?"
"Facing me, who does not fear even the European Racing World you deem strongest, fear has taken root in your hearts."
"Since you lack the confidence to stop me... then fall before me!"
The instant Dream Weaver's voice fell, the blood-colored cursed blade erupted with a blinding crimson radiance, slashing directly toward the barrier formed by their combined Zones.
Already with waning wills and shaken hearts by Dream Weaver's words, the Triple Crown Uma Musume paled in shock when they felt that soul-shaking, razor-sharp edge.
In panic, they desperately continued to channel their Zones, trying to overwhelm Dream Weaver's spirit with the most terrifying existence from their own minds.
But just as Dream Weaver had said moments before...
How could Dream Weaver, who had long been armed with unwavering determination for victory, be trapped by such stale intimidation?
The heavy pressure that had entangled these five Triple Crown Uma Musume for years could not budge the crimson blade's light even a fraction.
The eerie scarlet glow tore through the racetrack.
That defensive line woven from fear now split apart like silk beneath the blade's edge—
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.